The Friend Zone
by almostmissingyou
Summary: -oneshot- Joe needs help telling a certain someone how he feels. LOE


**I know this isn't an update of "Just a Dream" or "Through Their Eyes," but I'm suffering from a bit of writer's block so I decided to write this little oneshot to help get me going again. I'll try to update those stories as soon as I can, though!**

**So this story was inspired by one of my favorite Harry Pottere fanfics, a song called "Friend Zone" by this great unsigned musician named Steve Boller (check him out at myspace or at ) and a serious lack of sleep. I hope you guys enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: The characters in the story and the lyrics that appear in it are not mine.**

**LJLJLJLJLJ**

"So you're a girl," Joe Jonas pronounced decisively as he sat down in the grass next to 16 year-old Lilly Truscott. She had been sitting in her front yard reading a book when he had approached her. "And I'm a boy," Joe continued.

The blonde raised an eyebrow at him. "Wow. It only took eighteen years, but Joe Jonas has finally figured out the difference between men and women."

"Haha. Cute," he muttered, glaring at his best friend balefully. When Nick had started dating Hannah a year ago, all the Jonas boys had found out about the whole Hannah/Miley double life thing and Joe and Lilly had become really good friends. They didn't have a lot of time to spend together, what with the boys' busy touring and recording, but they talked on the phone all the time and texted so much that it drove everyone else crazy. And now that the band had a two month break in their touring schedule, the Jonases decided to stay in Malibu to let the boys spend time with their friends. And it was a happy coincidence that their break corresponded with the Sea View High summer vacation.

This was perfect for Lilly, since she had had a mega crush on him for forever, it seemed, and was trying to figure out a way to tell him. And now that they had two months together, that gave her ample time to work up the courage to do so. The only problem was she didn't know how he felt about her…

"You're just lucky I didn't start singing that Avril Lavigne song. Remember 'Sk8r Boy'? 'He was a boy, she was a girl…'"

With a wince, Joe agreed. "Good point."

"So what brought on this sudden gender revelation?" Lilly asked, putting down her book and leaning back in the grass. The boy followed suit, but was quiet for a minute and looked down nervously, biting his lip. "Well?"

Taking a deep breath, he spoke. "Well you see, there's this girl…"

Lilly felt her heart contract. Of course there was a girl. She wanted to cry and scream and throw things and kick him and…But instead, she put on her best friend face and cocked her head. "Don't you usually go to Kevin with stuff like this?"

Joe shrugged. "You're a girl."

"We have been over this, yes."

"That means you know how girls think." Oh. Well that…kind of made sense.

"And?"

"Well I was just wondering how to – you know – tell a girl you like her without telling her that you like her?" Lilly looked at him in confusion.

"You know that made no sense, right?"

Running his hands through his hair, he let out a frustrated sigh. "You know what I mean."

"No. No I don't."

"You know – how to tell a girl without actually having to _say_ the words." Lilly's eyes widened.

"Oh! Like…you want to show her?" she clarified.

"Yes." Joe looked relieved that she understood.

"Shouldn't you know this? I mean, you're Joe Jonas. You have girls practically falling at your feet!" Straightening from her leaning position, Lilly put a hand to her brow and pretended to swoon, collapsing over Joe's outstretched legs. She looked up at him and batted her eyes exaggeratedly. "Oh Joe," she simpered in a breathy voice. "You're so strong and handsome and talented. I love you! Marry me!" Puckering her lips, she made loud kissing noises. Joe gave her a half smile and pushed her shoulder playfully as she sat up.

"Not cute. And not this girl." The expression on his face could only be described as longing, and it caused another pang of heartache and jealousy in Lilly.

"Must be a strange girl," she muttered.

She didn't realize she had said it out loud until she heard Joe say, "Yeah. Yeah she is. And that's what makes her so great."

The two were quiet for a moment.

It was Lilly who finally broke the silence. "Why don't you just tell her?"

Joe opened his mouth to say something, then shut it quickly. "I—" he started to say, but apparently changed his mind again. "It's just not that easy! See…I don't know if she likes me back. And I was hoping to just kind of…hint at it? Kind of feel her out? That way I could figure out if she likes me, too, so telling her I like her would be easy, you know?"

"Yeah," Lilly sighed. "I do know…" Joe gave her a strange look. Shaking off his probing stare, she forced a smile. "So what do you want to know?"

"Well what can I do to show her that I really like her? I mean, how will she know?"

Lilly giggled. Unable to resist the urge, she started singing at the top of her lungs. "_How does she knooooooooow you love her? How does she knoooooooow she's yours?_"

Making a sour face, Joe reached over to quickly cover her mouth. "AHHH! MAKE IT STOP!" he exclaimed. "Miley's right. You really are a terrible singer!" he teased after a moment, removing his hand from her mouth.

Lilly tried to look affronted (and probably failed miserably). "I guess _someone_ doesn't want my help!" she said haughtily.

Joe's face was the picture of panic. "No no no no no!! I'm sorry!"

"And?"

"And you're awesome and cool and…." Seeing that there was an expectant look still on her face, he added tentatively, "And you're the best singer in the world?"

"Liar," Lilly teased, punching him on the arm. "Okay, I'll help you."

"Yes!" Joe exclaimed happily, wrapping both his arms around her tightly. Lilly tried not to dwell on how nice it felt. Especially since she was about to help him get with another girl… "What do I need to do?" Joe's voice broke her out of her reverie.

Pulling out of his arms, she thought for a moment. "Well, you should try to be around her a lot. So she knows that you like spending time with her and that you'd like to spend even more time with her…"

"Well that shouldn't be a problem, since I was planning on spending a lot of time with her this summer anyway…" Joe mused aloud. Lilly tried to suppress the feeling of hurt that bubbled up inside her. This was going to be the first time that they could actually hang out in forever, and he had already been planning to spend that time with someone else? The jerk!

"And you should also compliment her a lot, subtly let her know that you find her attractive. But don't lay it on too thick or you'll seem insincere or creepy…or both." Joe opened his mouth to comment but Lilly cut him off when she thought of something else. "And don't just compliment her looks, either, because you don't want her to think that you're just into her because she's pretty."

"How do you know she's pretty?" Joe asked out of curiosity.

"Is she?" Lilly asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well yeah, but—"

"See? Anyway – make sure you compliment her personality, too."

Joe whipped out his cell phone and began typing on the keypad. "Spend time with…Compliments…" he said slowly, partly sticking his tongue out in concentration. "Got it!"

"Joe, what you doing?" Lilly asked, regarding the cell phone in confusion.

He looked up at her. "Putting it in my phone so I won't forget." The blonde girl merely blinked at him. "So what's next?" the boy asked brightly.

"Next, you should find any little excuse to touch her. You know, put your arm around her shoulder, let your arm or leg brush hers, and if you're feeling bold you could even try to hold her hand! But again, try not to be creepy…And don't forget her hair!"

"Eh?" Joe definitely confused. Lilly had to admit; it was a very cute look for him. Well, any look was a cute look for him since he was just so – she shook her head to clear her thoughts. _Focus_, she thought to herself.

"I mean don't forget to touch or compliment her hair. Girls really like that. At least Miley, my other girl friends and I do."

"Okay…touch…hair…Next?"

"I don't really know…just—be sweet, I guess. Just do nice little gestures like saving her a seat, giving her your jacket if she's cold, walking her home even when it's out of your way, randomly giving her little gifts, you know—just sweet, romantic things. Just watch Kevin," Lilly suggested. "He's good at that kind of stuff. Actually, I think he's the sweetest guy I know."

"Hey! I can be sweet, too!" Joe protested indignantly.

Patting his hand sympathetically, she smiled at him with pity. "I know, but Kevin's just better at it."

"I totally resent that!"

"But can you refute it?"

"Maybe!" Lilly merely raised an eyebrow at him. "I could! If I knew what refute meant…"

An insult was on the tip of Lilly's tongue, but she thought better of it. Instead, she grinned and rested her head on his shoulder. "Oh, Joe…Never change."

Joe's face suddenly became serious. "Do you really think it will work? Do you think she'll notice?"

Lilly smiled at him reassuringly. "She'd have to be an idiot not to." And she'd have to be an idiot not to like him back. With that depressing thought, Lilly picked up her book, stood, then ruffled Joe's hair affectionately. "I'd better go in. My mom wants me to help her pick out a dress for tomorrow. We're cooking this fancy schmancy dinner for her boss and his family tomorrow."

"Sounds thrilling," Joe teased, making a face and standing up as well.

"I know. Now all we need to do is figure out how to cook and we'll be all set," Lilly muttered rolling her eyes. "I don't know why my mom said she'd cook dinner when we both have trouble boiling water…"

"You know, I'm pretty handy in the kitchen myself…" Joe began. "Don't give me that look! I am! And if you guys want, I could come over and help you out…"

Lilly's eyes brightened. "Really? Joe you're the best!" She gave him a big hug. "Thank you!"

"No problem! Just give me a call later with the details and we'll figure something out." With a final squeeze, Joe stepped back and smiled at her.

"Thanks again! I really appreciate it, and my mom will, too! I'll see you later! Thanks again" Practically skipping, Lilly turned to enter her house.

"No problem! And Lilly!" he called after her. Joe wasn't sure if she heard or not, because she didn't turn around, but he figured he'd say it anyway. "Your hair looks really nice today!"

**LJLJLJLJLJLJ**

"I can't thank you enough for doing this for us!" Lilly repeated to Joe for probably the 50th time that night. He had come over at around 2:00 that afternoon and just cooked up a storm. Lilly had offered to help him, but he told both her and Heather to just go and get ready while he took care of everything. And boy did he ever! There was a strawberry romaine salad, an Italian sausage soup, roast chicken with vegetables, a small vegetable lasagna (just in case) and even a tiramisu (well his mom made that last night, and he just brought it over….but still)! It was now 6:00 and their guests were set to arrive in thirty minutes, but all Lilly and her mom had to do was wait. Joe had even set the table! The boy was just amazing!

"It's no problem at all," he assured her brushing her hair behind her ear. A frisson of pleasure ran down Lilly's spine. "My mom taught us to cook when we were kids and a lot of this stuff was pretty easy."

"Easy or not, it all looks amazing! _You're _amazing!" she enthused, grabbing his hand. "Are you sure you won't stay to enjoy the fruits of your labor?"

Joe laughed. "The fruits of my labor?"

"Well the salad does have strawberries in it…" Lilly joked. "But really…you should stay! We don't want my mom's boss thinking that she could actually cook all of this…and his kids are big fans of the Jonas Brothers!"

"I really wish I could, but I promised Frankie I'd watch a movie with him tonight. But good luck!" Joe squeezed her hand and smiled at her.

Smiling back, Lilly remarked, "You're sweet, you know that, right?"

A strange expression flashed across Joe's face. "Thanks. I'll see you later," he said, then leaned forward and kissed the top of her head. As he was leaving, he turned back and gave her an inscrutable look. "By the way, you look fantastic. But then again, you always do." And with that he was gone, leaving a very confused Lilly behind him.

**LJLJLJLJLJ**

"How is it even possible that you can like grapes but not raisins? They're the same thing!" Joe asked incredulously. It was a week after Joe asked Lilly for girl help and the two were sitting at Rico's eating ice cream just talking.

"They are not the same thing!" Lilly retorted. "And they definitely don't _taste_ the same!"

"Maybe not, but you, missy," he said, tapping her nose with his index finger. "Are a snob. A grape snob. Otherwise known as a grob."

Lilly just blinked at him. "That makes no sense. The only thing I am, Mr. Jonas, is out of ice cream." Holding her ice cream cup upside down, she shook it vigorously. "See?"

"Want some of mine?" he asked, pushing his own cup towards her. "It's raisin free!""

"Just the way I like it," she joked. With a smile, she scooped up a spoonful of ice cream and ate it. "Thanks!"

"Anything to see that beautiful smile of yours." It was so cheesy, but so sincere and it made Lilly blush. Then he leaned over the table and, in a similar action from a week ago (it was forever embedded in Lilly's brain), he tucked her hair behind her ear. Lilly stilled.

_It doesn't mean anything_, she told herself. _We're friends. Friends like seeing each other happy. And besides, there's that girl…_

"Aww, well aren't you two the inseparable pair?" Miley drawled as she and Nick came sidling up to them.

"Yeah. You spend more time together than Miley and I do!" added Nick. "It's like I never see one without the other."

Lilly merely stuck her tongue out at the both of them. Looking over at Joe, she was surprised to see a faint blush tingeing his cheeks. _Nah, _she thought. _I'm probably just imagining things_. Although she did have to admit that she and Joe had been spending a lot of time together…they had seen each other every day of the past week, and they always ended up spending most of the day together, whether it was just them or with other friends. _But it doesn't mean anything_, she reminded herself.

"Joe, move over next to Lilly so Nick and I can sit next to each other," Miley commanded, breaking Lilly away from her thoughts. After a moment's hesitation, Joe moved.

The look Lilly shot Miley was nothing if not venomous. Lilly couldn't believe her best friend! Miley knew perfectly well how Lilly felt about Joe and about the whole "other girl situation" and the forced close proximity was not helping! Miley merely stared back at her friend innocently and started a conversation about songwriting. During the course of the discussion, Lilly felt Joe put his arm around her and began twirling strands of her hair between his fingers. She was pretty sure that her breath hitched and her heart started racing. What the heck was going on?

Nick looked over at the two and grinned evilly. "Hey Joe," he broke in, interrupting Miley's explanation about chord progressions. "Why don't you sing them that new song you wrote last week?"

Joe glared at Nick, but Lilly was really excited. "Oh! I want to hear it! How come you haven't mentioned it before?"

Joe gave a nervous laugh. "Because it's not quite finished yet, _Nicholas_."

"That's okay!" Miley chimed in, sharing a look with Nick that Lilly could only describe as conspiratorial. "We'd love to hear what you have so far!"

"But it's really rough right now," Joe hedged. "And we don't have any instruments."

Nick waved off that concern. "Please, Joe. We've done songs a cappella before. No big deal. And it's a really good song."

"Please?" Lilly pouted. She gave him her best puppy dog look and she could tell when his defenses melted and he relented.

"Alright," he sighed.

"Yes!" Lilly squealed happily. "I love hearing your new songs."

That seemed to make the corners of Joe's mouth kick up a little bit. He opened his mouth to start singing but Nick interrupted.

"What's the song called, Joe?" he asked.

Another death glare was sent in Nick's direction. "How nice of you to ask, Nicholas. It's called 'Friend Zone.'"

"And what's the 'Friend Zone,' Joseph? I mean, besides the title of your song?" Nick inquired innocently.

"I hate you," Joe muttered. "The 'Friend Zone' is when you get close so quickly to the girl you like that she sees you as just a friend and it's almost impossible to get her to see you as anything else. Happy, Nicholas?" Nick just smirked. Joe scowled at him and started singing:

"_Look out, I'm falling so fast,  
I drank it down too quick and now the bottom of my glass  
Is laughing at me for being so silly and naïve,  
Because no picnic, bike ride, mixtape, or slow drive  
Could change her mind at this point, I think we got too close,  
I thought I figured her out…_

_Don't try explaining your logic to me  
It doesn't matter anymore,_

_Look at me  
I'm in the Friend Zone  
Far too deep  
How did I mess this up?  
I don't want platonic, it's just wasting my time,  
Now I hear  
All of your problems  
And your fears  
I know I could solve them  
Give me a chance because I'm just so sick of wasting my time_"

The three other teens clapped enthusiastically.

"That was fantastic, Joe!" Lilly exclaimed excitedly. _And a little too close to home,_ she added silently. Miley and Nick looked at her expectantly. "And I really liked it?"

"And?" Miley prompted.

"And I think it's good?" Lilly supplied lamely. She didn't know what else they expected her to say.

"And?" It was Nick this time.

"And? And it'll sound even better with instruments?" This apparently was not the answer they had wanted as Nick rolled his eyes Heaven-ward and Miley banged her head against the table. Confused, Lilly looked at Joe expecting him to be just as confused as she was. Instead he just looked downcast. In an effort to lighten the mood and change the subject, Lilly asked him, "So was that song about your mystery girl? How are things going with her?"

Instead of helping, this seemed to upset Joe even more and he abruptly stood. "I-I have to go," he stammered, and with barely a wave, he shot off towards his house. Nick gave the girls apologetic glances and quickly followed his brother. Miley merely banged her head on the tabletop one more time.

"What's going on?" Lilly asked in confusion.

"Do you really not get it? _Really_?" Miley asked, looking up at her best friend, her forehead a bit red from where it had connected (several times) with the table.

Lilly was honestly at a loss. "Get what?"

"Ugh!" Miley groaned. "You're an idiot."

**LJLJLJLJLJ**

Lilly didn't see Joe over the next few of days and when she tried calling him, he wouldn't answer. She didn't understand what was going on. He was totally avoiding her, but no one would tell her why. In an attempt to clear her head, she decided to take watch the sunrise at the beach. It was quiet then, and usually empty, so it would likely just be her and her own thoughts.

Sitting under the rising sun, she thought about her situation with Joe. Thinking about his song, she was sure that she was firmly ensconced in the Friend Zone but the way Joe had been acting lately really made her wonder. She _thought_ that he was acting like he wanted to be more than friends, but there was also that other girl to think about, too. Is that why she hadn't seen him or heard from him? Because he was with _her? _Ugh! _Why_ were boys so confusing?

"Do you mind if I sit down?" a voice asked behind her and Lilly stiffened. It was Joe. Simply because she couldn't say anything else, Lilly's response was a shrug, which Joe took for a yes and he sat down beside her. "So…"

"So…" Lilly repeated.

An awkward silence stretched between them until Joe decided to apologize. "I'm sorry I didn't have a chance to call you back. The last few of days have been…busy."

"Me, too." Another silence. A breeze ruffled Lilly's hair, blowing some of it into her eyes and into Joe's face. He reached over and ran his fingers through her hair, brushing it out of her face simultaneously.

"Your hair always smells so good," he whispered.

There was something in his voice, a kind of longing, that startled Lilly and made her turn to face him. She looked into his eyes and there was a world of emotion there…fear, yearning, and what she had wanted to see for so long… And although he hadn't said anything, she just knew. He felt the same way about her as she did about him. Suddenly it was like she was being drawn in towards him, inching forward until her lips met his in a mind-shattering, soul-searing kiss. It was everything Lilly had dreamed of and more, but as she pulled away she couldn't help but ask, "I—what—I don't understand. What about the other girl?"

It was Joe's turn to look confused. "What other girl?"

"That girl you told me about! You wanted to tell her you liked her without having to tell her you liked her?"

"Wait, you think there's another girl?"

"You told me there was. Last week," insisted Lilly.

"What—I was talking about _you_!" Joe exclaimed. Lilly still looked like she didn't get it. "You mean this past week, all the stuff I was doing, all the stuff _you_ suggested I do…you didn't get it?"

"I—Not really. I figured why would you come to me for advice on girls if you liked me! I was just really, really confused," Lilly mumbled.

He groaned and leaned his forehead against hers. "It was Miley's idea. She thought it'd be romantic if I asked you for advice and then you figured out that I was talking about you…"

"Yeah? It would have been. Too bad I'm dumb…" She thought back to the conversation she had with Joe, and remembered saying that the girl would have to be an idiot not to get it. "Oh! That's what she meant about me being an idiot!"

Joe's groan turned into a laugh. "I thought I was doing everything right, too. The dinner, the constantly spending time with you, complimenting you, playing with your hair, sharing my food with you, the song!…And I thought you not saying anything was your polite way of telling me 'Thanks, but no thanks.'"

"So that's why you've been avoiding me?"

"Yeah. I couldn't take being around you knowing that you didn't feel the same way."

"Well it sucked even more thinking that you liked someone else," Lilly retorted. At that moment, something else struck her. "Wait…that song was for _me_?"

"Yep. At that point I thought I was never going to get out of the Friend Zone, and I had pretty much given up hope… Just so we're clear on this, though: I like you, and you like me," Joe stated. With a giggle, Lilly nodded. "So you really didn't get it?" When Lilly shook her head, Joe groaned again. "Does this mean that I did everything completely wrong?"

"No! You did everything absolutely right," she assured him. "It's just that I had this idea in my head that you liked another girl so I interpreted everything you did as some sort of figment of my imagination. If I didn't think there was someone else, I definitely would have gotten it."

"I guess I should have listened to your original advice, huh?" Joe sighed. "I should have just come out and told you that I like you."

"Yep," agreed Lilly. "You should have. You know I'm always right."

Joe laughed and leaned in to kiss her again. "Hey Lilly," he whispered just before their lips met. "I like you."

**-fin-**

**LJLJLJLJLJ**

**So I hope you guys liked it! The lyrics are from Steve Boller's song, "Friend Zone", which I think is excellent. **

**And I'd love it if you guys reviewed! Whether you loved it, hated it, or just have something you want to comment on about the story or my writing style. Constructive criticism is more than welcome!**

**Thanks for reading!  
-v**


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